Best of Budapest & Hungary

December 10th marks International Aszú Day, dedicated to one of the greatest sweet wines in the world. Be an ambassador of Tokaj Aszú on this day, purchase a bottle of Tokaj Aszú, ask for it in your favorite restaurant or uncork one at home and prepare a dish with foie gras to accompany it. Don’t forget to share the experience with others!

Brainchild of Dániel Kézdy, the first Aszú Day was organized in 2017. “It was surprisingly successful; we received an immense amount of feedback, not only from Hungary, but from every corner of the world. Many people remarked on how they were not particularly keen on sweet wines before, but having tasted an exceptional aszú made them change their opinion. I have often personally encountered that after the first experience with aszú you are bound to re-evaluate the whole category,” Kézdy says, adding that his initiative includes food pairings. Last year it was Sechuan cuisine; this year the focus will be on something more traditional: foie gras. “Though most people consider it a dessert wine, Tokaj Aszú partners well with an array of foods,” Kézdy explains. “Hungary is among the top producers of quality goose liver so it is only natural that one of the traditional matches for aszú wines is foie gras. The slightly sweet flavor of foie gras beautifully complements the residual sugar of aszú and the vibrant acidity is the perfect antidote to the rich texture.”

When preparing the food one should also consider the character of the aszú. Young aszús are best matched with fruit and herbs, older, mature bottles pair well with dried fruit, jam and caramelized dishes. Due to the variations in vintages, vineyards and technology, aszús show great diversity providing ample room for bolder experiments with flavors when cooking.

Tokaj Aszú

The Tokaj wine region is situated in North East Hungary. It has a long tradition of wine making, in fact it was the world’s first delimited wine region with records dating back to 1737. The secret to its exceptional sweet wines with their incomparable character lies in the coexistence of five factors: soil, microclimate, botrytis, native varieties and technology. The bedrock is of volcanic origin, which endows wines with minerality and tight structure. In autumn, the microclimate influenced by wet weather and the humidity generated by the rivers is conducive to the onset of Botrytis cinerea (or best known as ‘noble rot’) responsible for the shriveling of berries. Aszú berries with high sugar concentration are picked manually, over an extended period lasting for months. All winemakers have to follow a carefully stipulated technology and the wines can only be made from the six permitted varieties grown within the region. The aszú berries are macerated in the fermenting juice or base wine of the same vintage, residual sugar content must reach at least 120 gram/liter and the wines have to be aged in wooden barrels.